Of Knights and Demons
by VikingKatze
Summary: AU - But following along the basic sotryline... with a twist. Seifer/Zell
1. Prologue: Humans and Demons

Prologue: Humans and Demons.

* * *

In a place where there are monsters, big as well as small but all equally deadly, sometime humans forgets where real evil lie. They tend to point blame at others, at the monsters that roam the lands, even though they are just following their instincts, it's easier that way, easier for the humans to feel like they are not to be blamed for the things that are wrong. But you can only blame so much on monsters who act purely on instinct. They can't be blamed for war, nor can they be blamed for kings claiming land as their own, and mayors being corrupt.

So what do humans do? They seek to lay blame on others. To lay blame on those who are too trusting, to kind, and who were just there. Humans made it out so that it was the _demons_ doing all along, that they used their powers to corrupt them, that they were the cause of the wars. They lay the blame on the ones that were similar, but stronger, but oh so much kinder...

The _demons_ were enslaved, almost extinct even...

Those _demons_ that had once had towns of their own and living a calm and easy life were reduced to scattered secret camps, those that is, who weren't enslaved.

Demon, devil, monster... all words cast on a race that had once been proud and powerful. Humans soon forgot what they had once been called, it was pointless really to know what they once called themselves, they were nothing but something to be used. Servants, slaves...

Humans and demons.

Humans frail and week by comparison to demons. Demons who were born with their own magic, who were blessed with long lives and strong and agile bodies, with features so alike to humans but with subtle differences that gave them away. Features such as sharp and pointed canines, long pointed ears, and eyes that seemed to glow whichever colour they had. But what had most likely had caused them to be called demons and devils was probably because of those eyes, those eyes that had pupils like a reptile, mere slits in the depth of colour that were their irises.

And even with their own kind of magic and their strength as time went by humans figured out ways to seal that magic, so with no one to show and teach the younger generations, the magical abilities faded, but still strong and long lived, they were a peaceful race... and it was probably because of that reason they stopped fighting and just let the humans win...

But that didn't mean that all of the demons had given up, time has a way of changing things. Once peaceful doesn't necessarily mean always peaceful...

* * *

Mercenaries where always in high demand, people who could be hired to protect and deal with things that others wouldn't or couldn't deal with. There were even schools where they were trained, and those schools were legally responsible for their students, that way there were at least some boundaries... even though those boundaries were crossed a bit too often.

The schools didn't have the best of rumours around them though, but for those students who lived long enough and trained hard enough could expect well paid jobs. Orphans usually found themselves seeking out those schools; it was the best way to get an education when you had no money or a family. But there were everyday kids with families as well, they just weren't the majority, but the common thread was often the lack of money...

Money was after all the thing that made the world go round right?

* * *

"MISSION." The slim silver haired woman, whom rarely spoke a full sentence, announced to her two comrades whom were sitting on the couch in her small apartment which she shared with one of the men who looked over at her as she waved a printout at them.

"What and where?" The blond relaxing on the couch asked as he held out his hand towards the girl whom handed him the printout. "CENTRA." She said and started to go about getting things in order.

"Yo man... what's it about?" The dark skinned and much larger of the two men questioned as he leaned closer to read the printout as well.

"...the usual. Bag and tag job really." The blond muttered with a blank look on his chiselled features.

"You alright Seifer...?"

Green eyes turned to look into one crimson one and a small smile came to his lips. "Yeah Fuu... I'm fine. I'll go to my place and get ready. I'll meet you guys at the station." The blond said as he stood and left the apartment to head to his own a few blocks away.

_'Bag and tag, the capture and registration of demons... Probably some pompous slave seller who wants more goods and has a bunch of money over to hire people to do it for him...'_ It wasn't a job the blond particularly liked, but work was work, he had never gone to the Centra continent for any bag and tag jobs earlier though.

_'Probably because it's so uninhabitable that no one really wants to be out there for days looking for them...' _


	2. Chapter 1: Starting up

Chapter 1: Starting up

* * *

The ride from D.C. towards the Centra continent was not an enjoyable one since their only option was to get there by car. Their first stop was actually in Winhill, where they were to meet the person whom had hired them. It hadn't said who it was in the short mission brief they had gotten through the email.

The small and sleepy town was as it had always been, calm and undisturbed.

Seifer parked their rented car outside the hotel and cast a glance back down the road once he'd gotten out of the vehicle. He had spotted the huge terrain van outside town and the he was fairly certain that they would be using it out in the desert. "Alright, let's go and meet this mystery person..." The green eyed man said as he reached back into the car to retrieve his gunblad and fastened it to his belt to be hidden away under his long trench coat.

The moment they entered the small hotel the tension radiating from the few locals there was nearly tangible. The front clerk gave them a wary look as they walked past the front desk towards the restaurant portion of the hotel. What struck Siefer as a little odd though was the liveliness in the restaurant as they drew closer, it didn't match the rest of the atmosphere of the locals milling about...

"Seifer!" A high pitched voice suddenly called out in delight and it didn't take long to spot the owner of the voice. Seifer was actually quite surprised to spot the raven-haired girl as she made her way over to the three of them.

"Rinoa, what are you doing here?" The blond asked as the girl threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, forcing him to bend down until she let go. Once she drew back she beamed up at him and giggled.

"Oh I was the one that hired you guys, I'm here because daddy asked me to deal with this stuff. There is a good trade in rare Demons nowadays you know." She said and smiled shrewdly. "And daddy came across a really rare magical Demon just last year from some seller that couldn't break it in. Some people are so incompetent at those things... anyway, apparently that Demon came from the Centra continent, and not many people bother to go there to look for them, too much work really. Oh! And the story about the capture, it was amazing really, that Demon put up one heck of a fight. Lightning magic had no affect on it, and it was so fast and-" Seifer held up a hand and Rinoa stopped her ramblings, a rather annoyed look flashing over her features for a moment.

"So your father wants us to round up a bunch of magical... demons for him so that he can train them and sell them?" Seifer asked, and there was a certain edge in the tone he spoke, but it went unnoticed by Rinoa whom just smiled brightly, clearly forgetting her annoyance at being interrupted.

"Yapp! And I brought that demon with me, but it's very unmanageable really... daddy wanted to use it in the Demon games but it outright refuses to fight other Demons." She drew a big sigh. "He suggested I bring it here since it's of no use back home, we even had to seal its magic since it wouldn't fight. It's not a permanent seal mind you, daddy hoped that you might be able to train it, if not he might just dispose of it... can't make it into a servant, to old really." She had started to twirl a strand of hair absentmindedly around her fingers as she spoke. "I've brought my servants with me. They've been trained since they were bourn... that's how it has to be with servants' otherwise they will be completely unmanageable..."

Fujin watched the raven haired girl as she started up another ramble. She remember the other girl from a few years ago. Siefer had hooked up with the girl, she didn't know the reason, but it didn't last long... But he had seemed happy enough during that summer though. He'd had a fond sort of look in his eyes during those few times she had seen them together, but the look in his eyes now just held contempt, even though his features were settled into an indifferent mask, she saw it.

"Rinoa... We really should head out if we're to make it to the coast before dark." Seifer cut in making Rinoa stop her rambling once more. She blinked in surprise and pouted a little, clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to speak with Seifer longer.

"You're right..." She said before she turned and waved one of her servants over and took the folder out if the demon's hands, and then took out a keychain with two keys on it from a pocket on her skirt. "This is a more detailed mission specification, and the key to the van, it's parked just outside of town. The Demon I told you about is already in the back... do what you can with it, if there's nothing to be done see if you can get some information on where it was caught at least." She said as she flipped through the folder once before handing it over along with the keys to Seifer.

"The key to its restraints are there as well, but I'd advice against releasing it, like I said, it's quite unmanageable... and I think that's all." She said and smiled brightly. "I'll be staying here till you get back. There's a four week limit to the mission, there are founds for food in the folder and such things. I hope you can find some young ones, the older Demons are only useful for the games really. Oh well! Keep in contact alright? I'd love to hear if you find a camp or something." The girl continued excitedly and bounced a little where she stood.

Seifer simply took the folder and passed it straight to Fujin but took the keys for himself. "We'll do our best." He simply said and turned and left without another word.

"Good luck Seifer~" Rinoa called after them before she went back to the table she'd been sitting at, apparently not at all bothered by Seifer's behaviour.

Once outside the hotel the tall blond cast a look at the keys in his left hand before he pocketed them. "You two stack up on some more food and take the rental to the coast, I'll start driving that terrain van, it's slower and we need to hurry if we want to catch the last ferry." He instructed Fujin and Ranjin before he turned to walk the short distance to where the van was parked just outside of the town.

But he'd only taken a couple of steps when he felt a firm grip on his left arm, he turned his head and looked down at the woman besides him, her crimson eye staring up at him with concern. He patted the hand on his arm before he gently removed it. "Don't worry Fuu, it's nothing." Siefer said and flashed her his trademark smirk before he set of again, waving over his shoulder at the pale woman, whom looked far from convinced.

"Seifer seems a bit out of it, ya know?" Rajin's voice suddenly broke through the silence and Fujin bristled and turned and gave a mighty kick at the large man's left shin.

"SHOP." She stated before she stalked off, Rajin hobbling behind her.

* * *

Seifer eyed the large vehicle; it was clearly made for transporting Demons. Reinforced metal with magical blocks worked into the frame. Green eyes stared blankly at it for a few moments before Siefer shook his head and climbed up on the step on rear of the van and slid back a latch so that he could look into the compartment without opening the doors. It was, however, to dark to see much besides then the outline of something sitting on a bench, which ran along the length of the car. The blonde frowned and closed the latch before he jumped down to walk to the driver's side removing his gunblade from his belt as he walked. He unlocked the massive car and got inside, an annoyed frown stretching over his features.

"How many are they counting on us to find..." He muttered to himself as he went about adjusting the seat and mirrors. He wasn't fond of large vehicles, they were hard to manoeuvre, a hassle to drive in general and they were slow.

"That damned woman and her brainwashing tactics... I'm never going to enjoy these kinds of jobs... because of her..." The green eyed man muttered, but there was no real spite in his words.

He reached out to start up the car but hesitated and instead went about to shrug off his long coat and threw it onto the empty passenger seat where his gunblade already lay. It was going to be a long drive, and the closer they got to the coast the warmer it was going to get.

"Well then, let's get driving..." He said and started up the car and GPS, the roads were next to impossible to see because they were nothing more than dirt roads and they were rarely travelled because few people went to Centra. The ferry only went two times a week, and there were talk of cutting it down to once every two weeks because there just weren't enough people who went there. The blond glanced down at the watch on his wrist and let out a sigh. Hopefully they would catch the ferry... if not it would go again next morning, but that was it until the next week.

_

* * *

_

Seifer swore loudly as the car gave another stutter and refused to start, he hit the steering wheel with both hands before kicking the door open. Now he could just add another column to the list of things he hated about big vehicles.

The august sun was glaring down at him from high above as he popped opened the hood of the car and a billow of steam nearly blistered his bare arms. More curses spilled past his thin lips as he glared down at the overheated engine. It wasn't that big of a deal, it needed more water in the cooling system and the obvious leak needed to be fixed.

He got back into the car and reached for his trench coat and rummaged around it for his phone and gave Fuu a quick call, just to tell her that he was stuck on the side of the road for now and he needed them to stop by with water that he could fix the problem and get driving again.

After the short call he set about trying to find some tools, there should at least be something that he could use to fix the leak with. After much rummaging he found a very feeble toolbox, but it contained the things he needed, luckily enough. But he wouldn't have been surprised if it had been empty once he opened it with the way his day had been going thus far.

It took him one hour to fix the leak, and he could feel a sunburn starting to blossom on the back of his neck. Seifer did his best to avoid thinking about the desert landscape they would be embarking on, no shade and nothing but rocks and sand for miles in all directions once they got away from the coastline.

"Fucking lovely isn't it..." The tall blond grumbled as he wiped his hands on his jeans before he took another look at the time, but just moments later he heard a car approaching.

"Thank Hyne."

He walked around the car and watched the other, much faster vehicle approach and soon enough stopped a few feet away. Rajin bounded out of the drivers side looking almost as if he had been kicked out.

"Yo, we got yer stuff ya know." He said and walked to the trunk of the car as Fujin got out of the passenger seat glaring at the dark skinned man as he started to rummage amongst their things.

"You're letting Rajin drive?" Seifer questioned with a small smile but only got a glare in reply. "Ya gonna be able to make it to the coast before the ferry leave?" Rajin asked as he came back with a bag of things for Seifer, apparently Fujin had instructed what the dark man were to get from the trunk because there was a set of clothes, food and water in the bag.

"Depends on if the car breaks down again or not..." Seifer muttered as he opened the passenger door of his car and threw the bag inside. "You two should just take the ferry even if I don't get there in time."

"If you're sure..." Fujin said and looked up at the blond who gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "It's not a big deal. I'll just take the one in the morning. Gives you guys time to set up a camp, just send me the coordinates once you've decided on a place." He said and glanced down at this watch.

"We should go if we're to have any chance at all to get to the coast before it leaves." He continued and motioned for them to get back to their car. "Just get going, I need to fill this piece of shit up with water before I go anywhere."

They left, if a bit hesitantly, and it took no time at all before Seifer could no longer see their car in the distance. _'At least the engine will have cooled down by now.'_ The blond thought to himself before he once more walked over to the front of the car.

* * *

He saw the ferry leave, and that was even more frustrating then it would have been to find that it had left long enough ago so that he wouldn't be able to see it. But to see it putter away was beyond annoying, and it didn't help that the car was sweltering hot.

Seifer was fairly certain that the car was cursed, because only minutes after he had started driving the AC had given out.

He parked the car in the shade of some trees before he got out and slammed the door shut. At least the breeze from the ocean was cool. "...Shit..." The blond suddenly hissed out. He had forgotten about his _'passenger'_ in the back. If the front had been hot, he didn't want to imagine how hot the back would be, he had at least been able to lower the windows.

Seifer walked briskly around the car and hurriedly unlocked the back doors before he flung them open. The wave of heat that hit him was intense, it was like a sauna.

He climbed in and had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the dark, but it didn't take to long for him to see enough to distinguish the crumbled outline of the _demon_. He walked over and crouched down, he could just barely see the outline of the body and took a firm hold of the _demon's_ arms and hoisted it up. The skin that wasn't covered with fabric was hot and moist with sweat, but it wasn't surprising, even with the doors open the van was still stiflingly hot.

"Damn... come on, you need a bit of air." He muttered and readjusted his grip on the unconscious _demon_ before he got them both out of the back of the van into the fresh air.. Once outside again his eyes were assaulted by the bright sunlight and he grumbled a bit more as he settled the _demon_ down under a tree before he went around the car to the passenger side to get a bottle of water. When he returned he faltered for a moment when he, for the first time actually, saw the demon. There was just something disturbingly familiar about it...

Seifer got closer and crouched down besides the unconscious male and took a loose hold of his chin and tipped his face up so that he could see it more clearly. The frown on Seifer's face deepened and he let out a huff of air. "Caraway had a number done on you before he had you thrown in there huh..." He said as he looked at the cuts and bruises that marred smooth features, bright red hair covered the left side of its face, but the colour looked off, it somehow didn't match.

"Hey..." He continued and shook the _demon_ lightly, "I have water but you need to wake up to drink it." The blond didn't get much of a response though, only a small twitch of the eyes but the _demon_ was no closer to waking up then he had been then before.

Seifer frowned and started to wonder how long the _demon_ had been shut up in the van. An ugly sneer replaced the frown as he stood. There were few things that got to him, but the way some people, people like Caraway, treated _demons_ was something he just found disgusting.

Lost in his own thoughts he almost missed the pained groan from the _demon_ behind him, but he did hear it and turned to look down at him and found himself looking into electric-blue eyes. The red bangs shifted to the side to reveal black markings going down the side of his face, from temple to chin.

It was only then Seifer knew why he found the _demon_ so familiar. He just stared for a few long moments and the surprised look melted away from his face as his brain reeled as it scrambled for the almost out of reach memories.

"You... Zell?" He asked as he looked into unfocused eyes, but a moment later those blue eyes closed again as the _demon_ slipped back into unconsciousness. Seifer let out a long sigh and ran his right hand through his short hair before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Out of all the thousands of..." He started but drifted of and glared down at the unconscious _demon_. "...just fucking great."


	3. Chapter 2: Fragments of Memories

Chapter 2: Fragments of Memories

* * *

_He was running, stumbling, through the forest until he tumbled onto rocky and barren planes. He quickly scrambled to his feet again and ran. That's what the elders told him to do. They yelled at him to run and hide far away. _

_Tears were streaming down his face. He had seen his parents get killed right before him, seen his tribe getting slaughtered by humans, humans who threw volley upon volley of magic and bullets at them. _

_What had they ever done to anger the humans? All he could ever remember was the tribe, he had never seen a human before that night. He had been told to avoid humans so that was what he had done, not that there really were any around, so he hadn't questioned the instruction. Why would the humans do that...?_

_More tears fell and all he could do was to continue to run. He could still hear the agonized screams echoing within his mind. Voices yelling at him to get away, friends crying, the muffle thuds as bodies hit the ground..._

'Why? Why...?'

_If someone were to ask him for how long he ran he wouldn't have been able to say. After a while all he could hear was his own heart hammering within his chest, and his own footfalls but adrenaline and fright could only carry you so far. The cuts and bruises on his body were starting to hurt. He needed someplace to hide... but Centra was a very barren place, mostly rocks and sand. But there were a few patches of woods… and his home had been in one of them..._

_He had no idea where he was, but there were bushes, and he hid in them. He couldn't form a coherent thought, his body was screaming at him to sleep so that's what he did. He slept in the cluster of bushes, but it was a fitful rest, it was filled with images of his camp getting destroyed, images of his parents and friends... _

_"Matron! MATROOOOOON! There's a devil in the bushes!" A very shrill voice cut through his dreams and he was jerked awake. His eyes snapped open and found himself looking into a pair of ocean green eyes, but something was wrong... he had never seen eyes like that before... _

'Human!' _Those were human eyes, and they were staring right at him. He sat up and just stared back in fright. The eyes that were looking down at him narrowed and he saw that the human child was holding a stick in both hands. _

_He narrowed his own eyes in return and glared, baring his sharp teeth as he balled up his fists, he could feel tears already prickling in his eyes. But he was exhausted, he didn't know what to do, but he didn't want to die... _

_"What are you doing here demon?" The human child asked haughtily. _

_"I'm not a demon!" He hissed out and then hiccoughed as a wave of sobs flooded over him and caused his breath to hitch. The human child took a step back, apparently a bit taken aback, and then a much larger human appeared, a woman with long black hair. She looked down at him, and the frightened look on her face lessened a little. _

_"Oh my, whatever happened to you..." The woman said in a soft voice as she looked down into the bushes. "...you're all torn up... are you alone?" She asked in an equally soft tone. _

_He wanted to shake his head, what would they do to him if they knew he was alone? Would they kill him like they had killed his parents? He just stared up at the woman, an involuntary sob shaking his shoulders every few seconds as tears rolled down his face. _

_"We should just chase it away..." The human child with the stick said, then a moment later got a light smack to the back of his head and a disapproving look from the woman. "He's most likely in the same situation as you Seifer. Go back to the house." She ordered her voice no longer soft, but stern._

_"But it's a demon!" _

_"I'm not a demon!" _

_Both turned to look at him again, and then the woman ushered the child away again before she kneeled down a few feet from the bush. He stared warily at her for a long time sitting completely still. _

_"Would you mind telling me your name?" The woman asked him in that soft voice again. He hesitated and ended up saying nothing at all. "Well, I'm Edea. Are you a child from one of the tribes living in the midland forest?" She asked and his eyes widened. How would she know of their tribe? It was supposed to be secret. "I help them out once in a while if they need something, as they help me if I need something." She explained with a kind smile. "Are you lost? Do you need help to find your way back?" She was looking at him with concern, the same sort of concern he had seen in his mother's eyes at times. _

_He hiccoughed again and shook his head at her question before he started to rub at his eyes, he couldn't stop crying. "...attacked..." He managed to say between sobbing hiccoughs. He heard her gasp and he moved his hands away from his eyes to look at the woman; she looked sad and shocked. "Oh you poor thing..." She breathed out. "Did anyone escape with you?" She asked gently and moved a little closer to the bushes _

_He could only shake his head. He couldn't find words anymore. _

_"Oh my... Why don't you come out of there? I won't hurt you... I would never hurt a visres..." _

_He stopped breathing for a moment before he slowly made his way out of the bushes. He stopped a foot away from the human and she didn't move, she only smiled kindly at him and then slowly raised her hand and held it out for him. He stared at it for a moment before he shuffled closer and took the hand, and at that moment he knew she wouldn't hurt him. She was all good, she didn't want him any harm. _

_All walls of defence broke down and he let himself be gathered up in gentle and comforting arms. He clung to her and wept and she hugged him close and told him how sorry she was and that she wouldn't let anyone hurt him if she could help it. _

_And he let himself believe it... he needed to believe it..._

* * *

_"Wooooow~ I've never seen a... um... what are we supposed to call it now that we can't say demon or devil?" _

_H__e listened to the human children talk about him as he lay on something soft, he didn't open his eyes though, even though he felt anger bristle up in him at the words. _

_"I think Matron called him...visres... or something." Two females... The second one was similar to the shrill one that had woken him up. _

_"...what's that mark on its face?" The first female asked in a hushed tone only a few feet away. "I think it's a tattoo, like the one the ferry owner has... and don't call him an 'it' Selphie, Matron doesn't." _

_"...hmm... you think it...**he** has a name? Oh! Do you think we can name him!" _

_He felt himself grow angrier as they continued to talk, and his hands balled into fists under the blanket that was draped over him. _

_"What kind of a stupid question is that? You two should just shut up and get out. Your, so not quiet, blabbering is getting annoying."_

_He twitched where he lay, that voice belonged to male child from before... _

_"I was just wondering!" _

_"Come on Selphie let's go..." _

_He listened as the two females footfalls grow fainter, and then his ear twitched as he heard the male child speak. "To tell Matron for sure..." He listened closely and heard the rustling of fabric and muffled footfalls before he could sense that the male child was standing real close by. _

_He had intended to continue to pretend to be asleep, but when he felt something brush the side of his face his eyes shot open and he once again stared into ocean green eyes. _

* * *

Seifer didn't notice when electric-blue eyes opened and looked straight at him, Seifer's eyes were locked on the pages of a pocket book, some random thing Fujin had most likely picked up in Winhill, and it had found its way into the bag that Rajin had packed for him. Seifer wasn't sure if it had been placed in there on accident or not, but it was something to pass the time with. A small fire a couple of feet away provided enough light to read by, and emitted enough warmth to keep the chill air of the night at bay. The book was an attempt to get his mind to stop reeling as well. After about an hour of trying to figure out what to do he had just given up. There really wasn't much he could do; he was on a mission after all... a fucking bag and tag mission of all things.

After reading the same page over for the fourth time he gave up, the book was just to boring so his thoughts kept on straying. With a sigh he lowered the book and reached up to rub at his eyes, when he moved his hand away he raised his gaze to look over the fire towards the visres resting on the other side of it.

To realize that the visres was awake wasn't all to surprising. For him to just sit there silently though was odd to say the least. "Finally decided to wake up I see..." Seifer said as he placed the book on the ground besides him and watched Zell, for he was quite sure it was Zell, even though it had been several years since he'd last seen him.

"I unlocked those cuffs of yours." Seifer stated as he busied himself with getting an apple out of the bag resting on the ground besides him and then lobbed the fruit at the red haired visres. "I wouldn't advise trying to run away though, since you're tagged they will be able to trace you and most likely kill you once they capture you." He stated.

Zell had caught the fruit out of instinct but didn't eat it, he kept staring at Seifer, the blond in return quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly. "I don't remember you ever being this quiet; you were never able to shut up before."

An annoyed look stretched over the redhead's features as he mouthed something and then pointed at the collar around his neck. Seifer shifted his gaze to the collar, he had just figured it was an ordinary collar, but once he looked closer he could see that it was most likely a permanent silence spell on it. A small smirk spread over his lips. "Aha, so that's the secret to shutting you up." He said and got a nasty glare sent his way.

A wider smirk settled over the blond's lips as he stood and walked around the fire to where Zell was sitting and crouched down. The visres shuffled away from him, a wary look on his face now, the glare not holding as much anger in it, but held more fright then anything.

"Relax chicken-wuss, I'm just going to see if I can take it off." Seifer stated and reached out and drew Zell closer so that he could get a better look of the collar. He could feel the anger rising off of Zell, he might not have been able to speak at that moment, but it didn't stop him from radiating annoyance and anger at the abhorred nickname.

The blond gunblader ran two fingers along the collar, feeling around for a lock or latch of some sort. The leather collar was magically reinforced so it was no way he could just tear it off, and there was no telling what that would actually do to the silence spell set on it. As Seifer inspected the collar he didn't fail to notice the bruises that marred the skin of Zell's throat, it was fairly obvious they had been the result of someone pulling the collar from behind...

Green eyes scanned over the tense features of the visres who was keeping his eyes locked on the ground, his lips pressed into a tight line. The anger that had flared up had faded as quick at it has appeared. Only tense fright remained.

He reminded Seifer of an animal that was too scared to move. Even though his memories of the visres in front of him were fuzzy around the edges, he was sure that this stillness was something that was highly unusual.

Seifer's fingers brushed against a metal latch and gently moved the collar so that he could see the latch, or more correctly lock. The collar had several metal 'decorations' so it was hard to actually find the place where the seam was, it had been very well hidden.

"Hyne damn it... who the fuck made this thing." Seifer muttered as he fiddled with the thin disk which covered the lock. There was probably a much easier way of unlocking the magical item, a tool which would have it just split apart with a touch. It took the blond ten long minutes until the collar just split apart and fell off Zell's neck.

Zell stared down at the collar which now lay on his lap, his eyes had widened in surprise. It was such a feeling of relief to get the thing off. It was as if someone had lifted something very heavy off his spirit. He let out a long shuddering sigh as he felt his suppressed magic flow through him once more. He let his eyes fall shut and concentrated on the familiar buzz of electricity crackling just underneath his skin.

Seifer had been a bit taken aback by the static electricity that seemed to radiate from Zell once the collar fell away; it had apparently done more than just silence him. The gunblader watched as Zell's hair seemed to be weightless and moved as if he was underwater.

The visres opened his eyes and for a brief moment they glowed. It was a rather spectacular sight, even though Seifer would never have admitted it out loud.

The surge of power soon settled down and the static in the air faded and Zell's hair and eyes returned back to normal. Electric-blue eyes turned to look at Seifer, and the blond almost squirmed under that gaze, but he didn't, Seifer did not squirm.

"...thanks..." Zell eventually said his voice barely over a whisper and thin sounding from not being used for a long time. Seifer was a bit surprised that Zell had even bothered to thank him. The blond certainly hadn't expected it.

Seifer just gave a shrug of his shoulders, and then Zell looked away, turning his eyes towards the small fire that was still burning merrily a couple of feet away. Zell remembered the blond perfectly clear; it wasn't as if he would ever forget those series of events any time soon. And after having just dreamt of them the memories burned bright within his mind, as clear as the flames he was staring at.

Somewhat bittersweet memories...

Zell cast a glance towards Seifer again. The tall blond had gone back to where he had been sitting earlier, and he'd taken the collar with him, looking it over with a small frown marring his features. Electric-blue eyes stared at the diagonal scar on Seifer's face and briefly wondered how he'd gotten it, but he soon dismissed it. It wasn't as if he wanted to know, the blond was just someone from his past... and now he was one of those humans who had started the events that had been the cause of their first meeting.

Zell hated humans... they only brought destruction, misery and pain... there was nothing good about humans... nothing at all...

* * *

_Seifer stalked around the orphanage in a stormy sulk, not that he would ever admit it, he was just annoyed, he wasn't sulking. Seifer didn't sulk... _

_The other kids stayed out of his way, they almost always did, and that was how he liked it. They were all babies anyway, never wanted to do anything he considered fun anyway. The blond boy stopped his sulking for a moment as he watched Matron bring the demon inside. She had the thing gathered up in her arms, and it was clinging to her as if there was no tomorrow. _'What a crybaby...'_ Seifer thought to himself as he watched as it seemed to cry itself into a exhausted sleep, but it still clung to Matron. _

_The tall woman gently wiped away the traces of tears before she walked into the boys' room and laid the thing down onto one of the unused beds. _

_Seifer followed her and kept a watchful eye on the demon for a few minutes after matron had gently laid a blanket over the demon. It wasn't right in Seifer's mind. When he'd heard adults, well... the ferry men at least, talk about demons they always said that they were like the monsters out on the plains. That they were nothing more than uncivilized creatures that would wreck havoc if they had the chance, and that they should all be killed. _

_He lurked in the doorway to the boys' room for a few minutes before he started wandering around the house, and as he was nearing Cid's office he heard voices from inside. The green eyed boy slowed until he came to a stop and listened at the not completely closed door. _

_"Dear calm down..." _

_It was Cid's voice, he sounded slightly confused. Seifer's eyes narrowed as he strained his ears to hear the conversation. _

_"...It's awful, who would do something like that? No visres' around here have ever done anything bad." Matron was saying her words rushed and very angry. "It's slaughter. This is worse than this Hyne forsaken Sorceress war, saying that the visres' are dark creatures that will bring destruction because they are going to follow the sorceress. That's just absurd; their magic is pure and would hardly be easily manipulated by a sorceress. This is just slow genocide brought on by the ignorance of human beings." _

_"Edea, dear, take a breath. What did the boy tell you?" _

_Siefer frowned at what Cid had said. _'Boy? It was a demon... not a boy...'_ The blond's face scrunched up in thought. _'...demons are demons. Just evil things that should be killed...'

_"Oh Cid, the tribe in the midland forest were attacked... The poor little thing... seems like no one came the same way as him. I do hope he wasn't the only one who managed to escape... that forest is a good two day trip away from here on foot. It's a miracle that he managed to get here at all, at this time of year the plains are littered with monsters."_

_The frown on Seifer's face melted away and he looked quite impressed for a moment. _

_"Well, there's nothing we can do besides let him rest here and hope that other from his tribe might stop by... If they don't, we'll just let him stay here for as long as he like." _

_That shocked Seifer a lot. Why would Cid let a demon stay at the orphanage? It was a demon!_

_"We will have to have a serious talk with the children about this though... explain to them that visres' aren't devils or demons." Cid continued after a short pause. _

_"Thank you darling..." Matron said her voice full of that mushy sort of tone she got at times when she spoke to Cid. Seifer scrunched up his nose in disgust at it before he hurried down the hallway once it was clear that Matron and Cid were done talking. _

_

* * *

_

_Seifer had done his absolute best at looking bored during Matron's talk about the demon that was going to be staying with them. Most of the other kids had been amazed and started rambling of questions, but Matron had told them to calm down and instead of answering the questions right away had sternly told them all that they should not call '_him_' a deamon or devil. _

_Even though Siefer had been looking off to the side he had listened. _

_"He is in the same situations as you children. At the moment he has no home and I don't know if his parents will be able to come and get him anytime soon..." Seifer had glanced at Matron then, there was something behind those words. That anytime soon sounded more like, if at all, to the blond boy. She had said the same thing to Irvine when he was smaller, but that anytime soon, was stretching into, if at all..._

_Seifer couldn't remember ever having parents... _

_The blond boy's attention soon drifted away, but he was attending enough to Matron to know what he shouldn't say or do to the demon. She basically told them to treat him as they treated anyone at the orphanage. _

_When they'd all been dismissed from the kitchen Seifer roamed around the back yard for a while. But there really wasn't anything interesting to do, and it was about to rain. With a disgruntled mutter he headed inside and into the boys room. Quistis and Selphie were hovering a few feet away from the bed where the demon lay... He frowned again, they weren't supposed to call him a demon anymore. _

_"...what are we supposed to call it now that we can't say demon or devil?" The tiny brunet girl asked as she clung to the bedpost and stared wide eyed at... whatever it was. _

_"I think Matron called him...visres... or something." Quistis said with a slight frown on her face, standing a couple of feet behind Selphie who were almost right at the edge of the bed where the blond visres were laying._

_"...what's that mark on its face?" The brunet asked and pointed towards the black markings almost close enough to touch, but Quistis was quick to grasp the hand and pull it away before she spoke again. _

_"I think it's a tattoo, like the one the ferry owner has... and don't call him an 'it' Selphie, Matron doesn't." The blond girl scolded, but it didn't faze the other girl in the least. _

_"...hmm... you think it...**he** has a name? Oh! Do you think we can name him!"The ecstatic look on Selphies face was somewhat disgusting, at least in Seifer's mid and he was growing tired of them being it his room, well the boys room, but still more his then theirs. _

_"What kind of a stupid question is that? You two should just shut up and get out. Your, so not quiet, blabbering is getting annoying."Seifer said and walked over to his bed and sat down on it before he started to rummage through the things on his bedside table. _

_"I was just wondering!" Selphie nearly shouted, sounding a bit embarrassed. _

_"Come on Selphie let's go..." Quitsis said and led the other girl out of the room. Seifer glanced after them and frowned. "To tell Matron for sure..."He muttered and stopped looking through the stuff. It was just the usual junk anyway... _

_He turned and looked towards the sleeping visres, since that was what they were supposed to call him instead of demon, and after a minute walked over to the bed and crouched down so that he was more or less level with the visres face._

'...that tattoo can't be real...'_ He thought as he narrowed his eyes as he inspected the black lines. Then without really thinking he reached out and brushed a finger along the lines, but they didn't come away, and he could actually feel that they were slightly raised... he also felt the visres twitch and then he was staring into those strange eyes for a second time that day. _

_Seifer quickly snatched his hand back and quickly wiped the surprised look of his features and replaced it with a glare before he stood and left the room. _

_

* * *

_

Seifer pinched the bridge of his nose, a small headache starting to throb behind his eyes. The burst of memories was quite unexpected. Not that he had completely forgotten about the orphanage, sure some faces were not quite there, the names for some reason were still there though. Remembering Quistis as a bossy tattletale was mildly amusing though.

The gunblader opened his eyes and looked across the fire at the visres. Zell was staring at him, and Seifer was fairly sure he had done so for quite some time. "What?" He asked in a short and irritated tone.

Electric-blue eyes kept on staring at him though and Seifer just shook his head. "I suggest that you sleep because-" He was suddenly interrupted by his phone. With an irritated and pained frown the tall blond snatched the device out from a pocket on his trench coat. "What?" Seifer said into the receiver, not bothering with anything else.

_"...Mr. Almasy, I advice you not to answer so rudely in the future."_

Seifer rolled his eyes at the familiar voice. "What is it Trepe? I'm on a mission and you damn well know that."

_"I am aware of that, but there's been a change, you are to make your way to Deling City. The mission had been cancelled, there's been an incident involving the employer..." _

Seifer frowned. "What kind of incident?" He asked and cast a quick glance over at Zell, who had barely moved.

_"I can't go over details over this line Almasy. I've already contacted your other teammates over the radio they won't make it with this week's ferry back. You are to get to D.C as soon as you can ahead of them."_

_'Wonderful...'_ Seifer thought sarcastically and rubbed at his face. "Fine." With that he hung up. He wasn't going to get any more information out of Quistis over an ordinary line anyway.

"Come on sparkles, we're leaving." Seifer said and got to his feet, Zell however didn't move, the visres was however glaring daggers at the blond gunblader. Seifer only smirked though before he grabbed the bag, and shuffled through it.

He grabbed the clothes and tossed them towards the visres, who caught them out of instinct, and then stared wide eyes at Seifer in confusion. "...Why are ya throwing your clothes at me?" The unnaturally-red haird visres asked, and Seifer let out a long impatient sigh.

"Because I'm not letting you ride in the front wearing rags, that probably by the look of the, will smell..." Seifer said, his annoyance increasing, along with his headache. "Go use the shower in the ferry shack, Hyne knows when it was last used though... those captains probably never use them." Seifer continued ad he tossed the mostly empty bag into the back of the van before he set about killing the fire. When Zell still hadn't moved the tall blond walked around the fire and hauled the visres to his feet and shoved him towards the mentioned shack.

"Get moving already, hyne damned it chicken I don't remember you being THIS stupid." Seifer said in an irritated tone before he went back to dealing with the campsite.


	4. Chapter 3: Maybe I'm a dandeLion?

Chapter 3: Maybe I'm a (dande)Lion?

* * *

Zell stumbled the first few steps, still in a mild state of shock and glanced over his shoulder as he walked, watching as Seifer walk around the van. Zell clenched the clothes in his hands close to his chest, until he thought better of it, it was quite true that the rags, that had once been clothes, were extremely dirty.

_'I should run...'_ He thought and glanced behind him again but then he remembered that he was in fact tagged, which meant chip under skin and all that crap, even if he ran he would be found sooner rather than later.

The last two years had been total hell for him so encountering someone from his past, whom had been a bully back when they were younger, and still kind of were, it was strange... Seifer didn't treat him like the Caraway's had.

Zell shuddered at the memory as he got into the shack and started up the shower, it sounded like the pipes were about to break, but after some ominous rumbles and random bursts of water, the shower ran smoothly.

The visres quickly stripped and washed as best he could without any soap of any sort and rinsed his hair as long as possible, before the chill of the water got to him. Still wet he dressed in the clothes Seifer had more or less thrown at him. They were obviously made for desert weather, pair of beige camouflage pants and a simple t-shirt. The clothes were way to big for Zell though and he let out a small sigh. Fastening the belt as far as he could and rolling up the pants legs so that he wouldn't step on them. He left the sorry excuse of shoes the Caraway's had forced him to wear though. They were horrible...

Zell stayed in the shack for a while longer thinking over his options...

_'Either run and hope to stay ahead of whatever search team comes after me... or take my chances and stay with Seifer... who might just return me to Caraway anyway...' _

It wasn't much of a choice...

With another sigh the blue eyed visres left he hut and set off towards the van.

Noting Seifer did could be any worse than he had already been through anyway. So Zell figured that he might just as well take his chances with the blond, his life couldn't get much worse anyway...

When he got back to the car Seifer had already started it up and was drumming his fingers against the steering wheel, and watched as Zell got into the passenger seat. He let out a small chuckle and Zell glared at him.

"You look ridiculous." Seifer stated as he started to drive, ignoring the blue eyes which were more or less shooting daggers at him. "Orange is not your colour." He continued with a smirk.

Zell frowned slightly before he caught sight of himself in the side view mirror, and he had to silently agree... the red had washed out quite a bit, so instead of unnaturally red his damp strands of hair were orange, eve in the dark.

"You are going to look even more like the-"

"Shut up Seifer!" Zell cut him of even before the tall blond could finish what he was saying. Zell glared at Seifer, but Seifer only smirked, not at all bothered by the outburst or the glare.

* * *

Seifer yawned as he lazily watched the deserted road towards Winhill. The feeble excuse of a road was voided of any and all life, not even the monsters bothered coming close. The only sound came from the rumbling motor and the wheels against the gravel road.

Seifer glanced over at the passenger seat where Zell sat half dozing; it was hard to really sleep with the road so uneven. The bruises and cuts were still visible, even in the dark. He focused his eyes back on the road and let his mind wander.

Seifer didn't consider himself to be one easily swayed by what other people thought about things. He had his own opinions, and that sometime got him into trouble considering what he was. He was supposed to follow orders and all that, and he did, if grudgingly at times. The whole demon debate was decades old and full of lies and falsely laid blame. And those lies just multiplied, he had seen firsthand how politicians had staged assassinations and then blamed it on a _'feral'_ visres, or rather demons as they were called. Once he had seen that happen he had been tempted to break the contract he'd been under the first time he had seen it.

It was sickening.

But there was little he could have done even if he had broken his contract. Most people wouldn't believe him, being brought up to believe that demons were not worth more then cattle. And if he had broken his contract he would have been thrown out of the Garden, and would most likely not be able to get another job. So he never did anything about it...

The garden used to be neutral in the regards of visres. Seifer couldn't recall that they had been mentioned even in passing during his first few years at the academy. But it changed for some reason, but by that time Seifer already had a strong opinion on the matter.

Seifer shook his head at the memories and then glanced over at Zell again. He had never expected to run into the visres again...

"Why did you let yourself get caught... idiot..." He mumbled under his breath as they passed Winhill, looking towards the small town briefly before settling his eyes back to the road and sighed. It was a damned long drive to Deiling, he would have liked to take into the hotel in Winhill, but decided against it.

He didn't want to run into Rinoa again for more than one reason...

* * *

_Siefer had been trying to get a rise out of Squall all day, but as per usual the brunet boy paid little to no attention to the blond. _

_Zell watched it all from a safe distance away. It had been two weeks since he'd arrived at the orpahange. The adult humans had been very nice to him, and most of the children were trying to be friendly, but Zell didn't quite know how to act around them. Selphie was the one that told him to play with them, but he didn't know the games that they played so he mostly snuck away once they were occupied with their game. He was not used to the routine humans had, they were so different from what he was used to so he felt utterly insecure. And he slept really bad, he had nightmares every night and he didn't know what to do about it, and he cried a lot as well, when he realized that his parents were most likely dead, and that he might never see anyone from his tribe again..._

_He had barely spoken to anyone. He kept was staying near Edea when he could, she was the only one that felt safe. But she was away, so he was forced to do something, so he observed the two boys. Seifer was being rather mean, but Squall just ignored him. Zell was rather amazed. Eventually the blond boy gave up, and had an angry frown on his face as he stalked away. Angry ocean green eyes looked over at him for a moment but he just walked past heading towards where the other children were playing. _

_Seifer hadn't said a word to him in the two weeks that had passed since he came there but Zell didn't know if he should be thankful or annoyed by it. It was a very conflicting feeling because he didn't want to speak with anyone. _

_Zell lowered his eyes to the grass and started plucking at the green tufts of weed, before he poked at the dandelion a little to the right. He didn't like dandelions... they reminded him of a very unfunny event a few years prior. Thin pupils were focused on the, to him, offencive flower, and a frown soon settled over his features. _

'So we meet again...'_ The young visres thought to himself and gave the flower a viscous poke. He raised his eyes momentarily and glanced around before he turned his eyes back to the flower and glared at it, his eyes flashing for a moment. "...ya've crossed me fer the last time..." He muttered and pointed rather dramatically at the flower before a rather large spark of electricity jumped from the outstretched digit and reduced the defenceless dandelion to a blackened pile of weed. He felt rather satisfied for a moment but he soon twitched as he noticed that someone was staring at him. Blue eyes turned to look up into ocean green ones. _

_Zell swallowed thickly not knowing if Seifer had seen what he had done. Maybe he'd done something really bad by using his magic like that. His eyes widened a little in fright and he twitched rather violently when Seifer crouched down and poked at the blackened remains of the flower but didn't say anything. _

_Zell only stared, and wanted to hurry away somewhere else in case he had done something he really shouldn't have. _

_"How'd you do that?" Seifer asked after a while and sat down on the grass and shifted his eyes towards Zell. The visres blinked in confusion for a moment before he ducked his head and started to pluck at the grass. _

_"Jus' kinda asked it to come... I guess..." Zell mumbled and scrunched up his face in thought. It was a bit difficult to explain really. The other blond let out a small thoughtful hum and poked at the flower again. _

_"...can you shock people without turning them into charcoal?" The green eyed blond asked after a few long moments and grinned mischievously. Zell raised his head and stared at Seifer and then gave a small, rather hesitant, nod. _

_Seifer's eyes lit up and he got to his feet and hurriedly grasped Zell's wrist and hauled him up. "That's great! Come on, we have a princess to annoy." The taller blond said and smirked. Zell felt rather confused but followed anyway. _

* * *

Zell startled awake when his whole body lurched forward rather suddenly. He grunted when the seatbelt stopped him from going too far though and blinked groggily. It was bright, the driver side's door slammed shut and Zell looked over towards it and saw Seifer walk away from the car, trench coat on, he looked grumpy though. It was only then that Zell realized that they were parked somewhere in a city, or town. It wasn't Deling though, he knew what that place looked like... well somewhat anyway.

Zell unbuckled the seatbelt with a small frown, he was quite sure he hadn't done it up when he got in the van... With a small shake of his head he looked outside again. The buildings weren't that big, the ones he could see. He stayed where he was though, since he had no clue where he was.

What was grating at the back of his mind though, was that he had been so close to home. A ferry ride away and he'd been on his own home turf. The visres let out a heavy sigh and sank back his seat, and then caught sight of his appearance. He stared in horror at his reflection in the side view mirror.

"...I look like a dandelion..." He said and tugged at the too long strands of hair standing on end. He tried to comb it down with his fingers, but with his inborn magic being suppressed for so long the static around him was quite extreme.

He was still fighting the impossible battle when Seifer returned, amused smirk on his lips when he opened the passenger side of the van and tossed a plastic bag into Zell's lap. "Get changed in the back." The tall blond more or less ordered and only continued to smirk as Zell narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Seifer.

"We're taking the train from here so get out of there already." Seifer said as he started to walk around the car towards the back to unlock the doors. Zell more or less scrambled out of the car and followed looking utterly confused for the second time in less then 12 hours.

"What?" The visres asked as Seifer opened the doors to the back of the van.

Seifer let out a long sigh and motioned for Zell to get into the van already. Zell however hesitated eyeing the van sceptically. When Zell didn't move Seifer rolled his eyes. "Give me a break Chicken, I would have locked you in there yesterday if I wanted to. You can change clothes out here if you want, I don't really care." The tall blond said as he leaned against the still closed left door and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"...Oh..." Zell eventually muttered out and glanced into the plastic bag for the first time, and taking note of the clothes. After another minute of thinking he climbed into the back and quickly changed clothes. It wasn't anything special really.

He pulled on the, rather long shorts, and took the belt from the cargo pants; the shorts fit him better, but were still a little too big. Next he changed into the simple black t-shirt and then looked over the last garment before pulling it on. The black and red hooded shirt rather loose fitting but comfy, he however pulled the sleeves up to his elbows before he exited the van

Seifer let out a small huff of air and the visres looked up at him. "We need to get you shoes." He simply stated before getting in the van and packing up the clothes and grabbing one last thing from the plastic bag, which Zell hadn't noticed at all.

Seifer tugged off his gloves and put them in the left pocket of his trench coat once he had closed and locked up the van. "Come over here sparkles." Seifer said with a small smirk, which Zell only returned with a glare, but grudgingly walked over to the taller blond.

"Wha-" Zell didn't get any further with his question before Seifer started to comb his fingers through Zell's hair. Zell could only manage to stare in shock up at the mildly concentrated look on Seifer's features as he looked at what he was doing.

After a few seconds of staring though he noticed that his hair felt sticky and was about to jerk back but as if anticipating it Seifer grabbed the sides of Zell's head before he could do so. "Just stand still, I'm trying to get your fluff down with some hair gel, can't have you walking around looking like you've seen the bad end of an electricity socket."

"I can't help it... it's usually not this bad." Zell said after a moment and stood still and let Seifer continue what he was doing. Even though it felt weird, he couldn't help but think it also felt... kind of... nice.

After a few minutes Seifer shook his head and gave up. The bangs of Zell's hair refused to stay any other way then up, he had managed to tame the rest of Zell's bright orange tresses though. With a sigh he pulled Zell's hood up for him. "Just keep the hood up and don't move your ears around like a fucking cat underneath it." It wasn't until then it dawned on Zell what Seifer was doing. His mouth fell open in shock as he watched as Seifer turned around and gathered up the bag sitting on the ground and checking his pockets making sure he had everything.

_'He's disguising me...' _

"Come on Chincken-wuss, I want to catch the first train out of here to Deling and we still have things to get." Seifer called over his shoulder, bringing the visres out of his stupor, before he hurried to catch up with the gunblader.

* * *

Zell followed Seifer onto the train, his head bowed as they walked past people towards their compartment. He had a pair of sneakers on his feet now, he still wasn't overly happy with human shoes, they smelled weird. But the ones Seifer had bought were at least comfortable enough.

Seifer found them an empty compartment and headed inside, throwing his bag onto the luggage rack, Zell followed close behind and closed the door behind them. Seifer had already slumped down into a seat near the window by that time.

Zell took the seat opposite him and fiddled with a box in his hands. Seifer had handed it to him earlier, but he didn't know what to do with the contents. "Umm... Seifer?" He eventually said, to get the taller blonds attention.

Seifer opened his eyes and looked over at the visres. "What?" Zell held up the box and bowed his head. "I don't know what to do with this..." He admitted. Zell heard Seifer mumble something under his breath before he sat up straight.

"Get over here." He said and motioned to the seat next to him and Zell moved over to it moment later, handing the box over. Seifer took it and opened it to reveal a small case. Zell watched curiously. Seifer hadn't said anything when he'd bought it, he'd just handed it to Zell.

Seifer frowned for a moment, before he handed the casing back to Zell and stood to rummage through his bag again and after a minute or so let out an amused huff of air. "...Fuu is a girl after all." He said with a small smirk as he closed the bag and sat down again, tearing open the small package with one of those disinfectant towels. "Open the casing." He told Zell while he wiped his hands. The visres did as instructed and peered down at the contents with a small frown.

"They're coloured contact lenses Chicken, they go into your eyes." He said and had to let out a small chuckle at the slightly horrified look on Zell's face. "Just do as I say." Seifer said as he took the casing from the visres.

"I don't want those things in my eyes!" Zell protested and leaned away from Seifer. "Zell... just do as I say." The taller blond said firmly and Zell hesitated for a few moments before he gave up. So far Seifer hadn't done anything to hurt him. _'...why start now?'_ Zell thought and sat to face Seifer again taking the case back from Seifer as it was handed to him.

"Just sit still..."

That was easier said than done, but after some squirming and flinching the contacts were in place. Zell desperately wanted to rub his eyes because they felt weird but he forced himself not to.

It was a three hour train ride to Deling, and Seifer was dozing in his seat. Zell watched the blond sleep for a while, trying to figure out why Seifer was doing what he had done. He wasn't getting very far in his musings though because they were interrupted by a knock on the compartment door before it slid open.

A girl with sleek brown hair wearing a uniform smiled kindly, shocking Zell a little and cast a quick glance at Seifer, who was still sleeping. "Hi, ticket check." She said with a slightly apologetic look. "Oh... Right." Zell said rather awkwardly and looked around the compartment; Seifer had thankfully left the tickets out on the small table so the visres grabbed them and handed them over to the girl who looked them over.

"Well this is all dandy. Have a nice trip." She said in a whisper and handed the tickets back with a sweet smile before she gently closed the compartment door. Zell didn't know quite how to react and just sat staring at the door for a few minutes. Before he shook himself out of his stupor and placed the tickets back on the table.

Zell realised that he'd been doing quite a bit of shocked staring since the night before. He sank back against the seat and shifted his gaze up towards the ceiling. _'Can't be helped really...'_ He thought idly as he started to tap his feet in a restless and slightly nervous manner, not even realizing he was doing it. He shifted his gaze towards Seifer again and wondered once again why the taller blond was bringing him along, and disguising him. It didn't make sense...

* * *

_Seifer looked down at the kitchen floor as Matron was scolding him and Zell, he had to bite his lip not to start laughing again though. He glanced over at the shorter blond, and he looked absolutely mortified. _

_"Seifer I know this was your idea, and you Zell, I know you've only been here for a short time but I don't think doing those kind of things are seen as funny in the visres community either." Matron was saying and Zell shook his head. _

_Seifer bit his lip harder. It had been absolutely hilarious. Zell had shocked Squall pretty good, and afterwards the silent boy was static, shocking the other children if he got to close, and his hair was standing on end which was almost the best part. Seifer had laughed so hard that he got tears in his eyes. _

_Zell had also laughed, a little, but probably it was mostly because of Seifer laughing so hard. That kind of laughter tended to be a bit infectious. _

_"I don't want the two of you playing any more pranks like that, and you are to apologize to Squall... once you have calmed down." She said sternly and looked at the top of Seifer's head. She already knew that the shaking of Seifer's shoulders was because of held back laughter. _

_"Go to your room and stay there until dinner. No talking. Now off you go." She said in the same stern tone, Seifer gave a small nod and hurried of towards the boys' room, Zell following behind him at a slower pace. _

_Once in their room Seifer flung himself on his bed and covered his head with his pillow laughing into it. The whole prank playing over and over again in his mind making near impossible to stop laughing. _

_After about five minutes Seifer sat up and dropped the pillow, breathing deeply a satisfied grin on his face. "That was awesome." He said and snickered and settled himself so he was leaning back against the wall. "It was so worth it." He glanced over at Zell's bed. The other blond sat with his arms wrapped around his legs, looking miserable. That was a bit of a downer..._

_"Matron ain't to mad at you." Seifer said and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "She will be all nice to you again after you give your apology to Princess gruff." Seifer said with a smirk. Zell looked at him with his strange eyes, looking almost as if he was about to cry, but he didn't. He just nodded and rested his chin on his knees. _

_"...We're not supposed to talk ya know..." The visres mumbled after a while glancing towards the door. Seifer just shrugged his shoulders. "So?" Zell looked back at Seifer and shrugged his shoulders as well, not really managing much of a shrug in the position he was sitting it but it was a shrug nonetheless. _

_"...Yer a bully..." Zell said after a few minutes of silence. Seifer turned form staring up at the opposite wall to staring at Zell for a long moment before he let out a laugh. "So?" He asked with a smirk and Zell gave another small shrug of his shoulders, a small smile on his lips. _

_"Jus' making sure ya were aware of it." The shorter blond simply said before both of them fell silent for a while. Then suddenly Zell started to giggle, it was quite different from when he had laughed before and Seifer looked bemusedly at the visres. _

_"...Squall looked like a dark dandelion... a dandesquall..." Zell said in between giggles. It wasn't a great joke, but the circumstances made it hilarious and Seifer let out snort like laugh which set of Zell even more. _

_It didn't take long before Matron came into the room and had Zell go into the girls' room while Seifer stayed where he was for their time out. _

* * *

Seifer woke up feeling much better, and oddly... pleased for some reason. He knew he'd had some sort of dream, but it was soon way beyond the grasp of recollection. The gunblader looked out the window and could see Deling in the distance.

The gunblader sat straighter in his seat and placed a hand at the back of his neck, it was stiff, but nothing a bit of moving around wouldn't fix. He felt eyes on him and looked over at Zell, the visres was looking jumpy, and after a moment of staring into Seifer's eyes he averted his gaze to look out the window.

It was strange seeing Zell with normal eyes, it didn't suit him... Seifer shook his head and combed a hand through his short hair before he looked out the window as well. "...it's weird bein' treated like something with a brain again..." Zell said after a few minutes of silence.

Seifer looked over at him and smirked a little, and as if sensing it Zell turned to glare at him. Seifer held up his hands. "I didn't say anything." He said with a smirk, Zell narrowed his eyes and tugged up the hood of the shirt a little as it was slipping backwards. "I'm bein' serious!"

"Calm down sparkles, I know you are." Seifer said turned his attention back to the scenery passing by outside.

Zell glared at the tall blond for a while longer, but then let out a long sigh, scratching at his tattooed cheek. "...Why are you doing this Seifer?" He asked in barely over a whisper, looking down at his sneaker clad feet while he waited for an answer.

After a minute of silence Zell wondered if Seifer had even heard him and raised his head to look at him. Seifer had a thoughtful frown on his face and was still looking out the window watching as they were drew nearer and nearer the city.

Seifer opened his mouth, about to answer when his cell phone cut through the silence. Zell gave a visible twitch at the sudden sound and Seifer let out a sigh, of relief or annoyance was hard to tell though. Seifer pulled out the device from the inner pocket of his trench coat and frowned at the display before answering.

"What?"


	5. Chapter 4: My Mind

Notes: Here it is, finally, chapter 4. I'm still writing this, don't worry my few readers, but the chapters might be a few weeks apart. My new job is taking more out of me than I thought it would. I do get ideas while working, and makes sure to write them down when I get home, but so far they're just ideas, but they might morph into plot-bunnies. Who knows? XD

Well I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I apologise for the wait, and thanks a bunch to those who have commented and faved/alerted this story. ^_^ It means alot to me. *Hugs all*

* * *

Chapter 4: My Mind

* * *

The first thing Seifer heard was a deep sigh. _"Why aren't you in Deling yet?"_ Seifer looked over towards Zell briefly after Quistis asked the question. "Didn't have enough gas to go all the way to Deling."

_"Why didn't you stop in Winhill before continuing on?"_ Quistins asked in an exasperated tone but after another sigh she spoke in a very authority-like way. _"You have kept your team waiting, I shall report this back to Garden."_

"Oh will you pull that stick out of your ass already Trepe, I'm five minutes away."

_"...I'll have your team meet you at the station." _The instructors voice was frosty at best when she spoke but it didn't bother Seifer in the least, he simply hung up after that and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as hi shoved the phone back into his inner pocket.

The train was slowing down as it was pulling into the city and Seifer stood and yanked his bag down from the luggage rack. "Let's go sparkles."

Zell got to his feet and looked utterly terrified for a moment and then his whole demeanour changed. Seifer watched in mild fascination, he had to give the guy credit, not many people could do what he had just done.

On the inside Zell was a nervous wreck though, he didn't like Deling, but he had to calm down, or at least appear calm, he didn't need to draw unwanted attention to himself...

_'...this is not going to end well...'_

* * *

The train station was crowded, extremely crowded. Not even Seifer's height helped him much while trying to make his way through the mass of people. He looked around for his supposed team, but how he was going to find them was beyond him. He didn't even know who he was meeting up with.

Zell bumped into his right side and looked up at him desperately holding on to the hood of his shirt, but to his credit he looked more annoyed then scared. "...This is insane." The visres muttered as he was jostled once more, but the person apologised before hurrying away. "...in more than one way..." Zell continued as he looked after the person for a while.

"As fascinating as this must be for you Sparkles, I want to get out of this crowd."

* * *

"Ohohohohooooooh! I see tall blond! SEIFER! That's him right? Oooooh... He's glaring! I guess that's him! Hi!" An extremely bouncy and short, brown haired girl was jumping up and down on a bench and flailing her arms around to get Seifers attention, and she had succeeded.

"Hey Squall, were Seifer supposed to have someone with him?" The girl asked and glanced down at her companion whom was standing with his arms crossed looking off to the side, but at the question he turned his gaze out towards the crowd of people.

"No..." Squall eventually said once he saw what the girl was talking about. The girl jumped down from her bench and rushed forward when Seifer and the other guy had cleared the worst of the crowd. The girl stopped a foot away from the tall blond and held out her hand. "Hi there! I'm Selphie and I'll be joining the team, let's try our best to get along!" She smiled brightly up at Seifer but he blatantly refused to shake her hand and just brushed past her walking over to where Squall stood.

"Well if it isn't puberty boy."

"..."

"As talkative as ever I see."

Selphie looked over at the two gunbladers with a pout and her hands on her hips. "Well that's a bit rude." She said before turning to look at the other guy, who had arrived with Seifer. Selphie smiled brightly and held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Selphie, you a friend of Seifer's?" She asked, she had a bit of an accent, but it just added to her bubbly personality.

"...I suppose...I'm Zell." He said and shook her hand, the look on the girl's face turned thoughtful for a moment but she soon shrugged it off. "That's an unusual name, but it's very easy to remember." She said brightly as she withdrew her hand to clasp them behind her back. She fell silent and pursed her lips thoughtfully as she looked him over, and Zell did his best not to squirm.

"...Did you intend for your hair to be orange?" She eventually asked as she looked up at his spiked up bangs. Zell gave a small sigh and shook his head. "No, someone forced me to colour it red..." He said before he shrugged his shoulders, leavig it at that before he looked over at Seifer, who was reading through a folder of some sort.

"Aha~ That kinda sucks though." Selphie said before she turned and trotted over to where Seifer and Squall were, Zell following a few steps behind.

Squall eyed the new arrival but didn't say anything.

"So is Zell coming with us?" Selphie asked as she tried to see what Seifer was reading, Seifer however just held the folder a little higher. "Yes he is." The tall blond said as he flipped to the last paper and quickly read it over before closing and tossing the folder to Squall.

Selphie just gave a small shrug of her shoulders and turned to Squall. "So where are we going now, captain?" She twittered brightly and bounced where she stood. Grey eyes stared blankly at her for a few moments before he turned towards the train station's exit. "Hotel." He simply said before he walked away, dissapearing in the crowed of people leaving the station.

"Hey Squall! Wait uuuup!" Selphie hurried after and was soon out of sight as well.

Zell walked closer to where Seifer was standing and looked up at the taller blond. "That was Selphie from the orphanage." The visres stated. "...She didn't recognise me..." Zell didn't know if he was supposed to feel relieved or not.

"Can't say I remember much of her, but I don't feel like it's a big loss." Seifer said before he started heading towards the exit, Zell soon falling into steps besides him. "...I don't think Squall recognized me either."

Seifer let out a short laugh. "Well that's not a loss at all. He's about as much fun as back then." Seifer said before he absentmindedly rubbed at the scar on his face.

Zell watched the movement but didn't say anything about it.

* * *

"I'll see you boys in the morning! G'night~" Selphie twittered happily as she scurried of to her own room. It was still fairly early but considering the company Zell didn't blame the girl for escaping to her single room.

Squall had wandered of somewhere, but they didn't have anything important to do before next evening. The things that had to be dealt with, some meet and great with their employer, was already over and done with.

Zell opened the door to the balcony and looked out over the twilight bathed city, he could see the Caraway mansion if he craned his neck, but it looked as it had the first time he'd seen it. A disgusted frown settled over his features as he looked at it for a moment longer, brushing a hand over the quickly fading bruises on his neck. He was surprised neither Squall nor Selphie had commented on them, they had been a rather ugly purple when he'd last seen them.

The visres slumped down against the balcony railing and glared down at the streets below, it was slightly disturbing how he'd been treated the whole day. It was an odd, and both heavenly and infuriating. Just because of a few changes, a few hidden features, and he could be just another person walking down the street.

As he stood there slumped over he reached up and felt his stiff hair, it was fascinating and annoying at the same time. He preferred hair gel over hair colour though, that had been a very unpleasant ordeal, one that he didn't really feel like remembering if he could help it.

He let his hand fall down to drape over the railing and just looked blankly towards the buildings in the distance letting his thoughts drift to other things and soon just concentrated on the feeling of his magic settling within him.

It had gone from a chaotic and broken floodgate kind of feeling the night before, to its ordinary slow and even flow. One and a half year without his connection to Gaia had been horrible. He couldn't understand how other visres, the ones who'd been born among humans, breaded..., could cope with the loss. Not knowing how to tap into it, to be a part of it. It was sad really.

Zell was feeling better then he'd felt in a long time. So the nastiness of being back in Deling was diluted a bit. With a sigh Zell shifted his gaze to watch the people walking around on the street below for a while longer before he headed back inside.

Seifer was nowhere in sight when he entered, but the door to the bathroom was closed. Zell took of his shoes and sat down on the bed closest to the balcony and started to idly pluck at the cover with a small thoughtful frown on his face. He couldn't really remember when he'd actually slept in a bed...

The frown deepened a little as he thought before he shook his head to get rid of that certain train of thought. _'Don't need to be thinking about that...'_ He thought and started to chew on his bottom lip and looked around the room. _'...sooner or later Seifer will have to come up with a reason why I'm with them... they're from one of those Garden's, so...'_ Zell's train of thought was suddenly derailed when the bathroom door opened and a half naked Seifer emerged only wearing his pants, not even done up properly, and towelling his hair dry.

Zell blatantly stared, his cheeks tinted pink. He didn't mean to stare, he really didn't, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't until Seifer pulled the towel of his head that the visres was able to turn his head away and directed his gaze towards the open balcony door.

_'I was not staring, I was NOT staring...why would I stare?'_

Seifer hadn't even noticed Zell's staring, he'd been too caught up in his own musings. Seifer tossed the towel onto an unoccupied chair before he fetched Hyperion from where it was resting against the wall near the first bed. Zell watched as Seifer brought the gunblade over to the small table and unsheathed the weapon and began looking it over.

After a few minutes of silence a thought suddenly struck the visres. He could actually have a warm shower and get properly cleaned. Had his hood been down his ears would have perked at the thought and he almost jumped of the bed and hurried of into the bathroom.

The blond gunblader looked at the closed bathroom door with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything. He simply turned his attention back to his gunblade.

* * *

It took Zell a while to get the contacts out of his eyes, but he was getting a hang of it, he couldn't very well ask Seifer to do it all the time. The visres looked at his own reflection a while the bruises were fading fast, they would most likely be completely gone by the next evening.

_'I don't think I've gone without bruises since I was captured...'_ Memories were slowly creeping to the front of his mind and Zell quickly pushed them away and started to undress and was soon standing under the warm spray of the shower.

It was a small piece of heaven really. There was one thing he liked about humans, and that was their showers. Baths were fine, but there was something really refreshing about showers. He wasn't sure how long he just stood there but eventually he started washing.

The visres washed his hair three times before the suds and water was clear and not orangey coloured. By the time he got out of the shower he was feeling clean, refreshed but rather sleepy.

He dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist and used another one to towel his hair dry. His gaze fell to the pile of clothes and he left the towel draped over his head and started to sort the garments out and folding them. Some of the garments were actually Seifer's, but the visres just folded them up and set them aside from his own pile. Once he was done he let out a big yawn and picked up his clothes before he wandered out of the bathroom and towards the bed he had more or less claimed as his.

Zell put his clothes down on the floor besides his bed before slipping under the covers, and only then realized that he still had the towel over his head. With a bit of tugging he got it off and dropped it to the floor. He would take care of it tomorrow, no big deal... The visres was too tired to even notice that ocean green eyes had followed his every movement once he'd left the bathroom...

It only took a few minutes before the visres was sound asleep, the covers pulled over his head to block out the cool wind drifting through the open balcony doors.

* * *

_"Maaaaaaaan, cleaning sucks!" Irvine whined as he was picking up discarded clothes around his own bed along with some random toy or book. Zell watched from his perch on his own bed, already made, and the area around his bed was immaculately clean. The short blond's gaze was however drawn to the mess around Seifer's bed. _

_The taller blond was lounging on his unmade bed and didn't seem at all bothered by the mess. "Then don't clean." Seifer said from where he was laying, flipping idly through a comic book. Irvine looked over towards the older boy with a somewhat exasperated look on his face. _

_"But Matron told us that we HAVE to clean up before dinner, we won't get ta watch the movie later if we don't." Irvine griped as he picked up another dirty shirt and threw it into the pile of laundry. _

_Seifer glanced around the mess near his bed and then let out a huff and went back to his comic. "Who wants to watch some stupid kiddy movie anyway..." He muttered. There was silence after that. Squall's area was already clean so he had wandered of somewhere else, as he usually did. _

_After half an hour Irvine gathered up his pile of dirty clothing and ambled out of the room declaring loudly that he was done. Seifer rolled his eyes and tossed his comic onto the floor before he shuffled of the bed and left the room as well, leaving Zell alone. _

_The visres looked around the room, the messiness of Seifer's area bothered him, and he fidgeted where he sat and glanced towards the open door. He didn't like it when it was messy, he'd always been told to keep things neat and clean, so when most of the room was in order and just one area was a disaster zone it bothered the blond. _

_He knew that he shouldn't clean it up. It was Seifer's responsibility. _

_Zell cast another look towards the door before he ambled off the bed and quickly closed it, after taking a look down the hallway. Then he started to clean up, it wasn't that big of a deal really. It would only take a few minutes, so why not just do it? _

* * *

Seifer picked up his folded clothes from the floor and let out a huff of air with an amused smirk on his lips. "Still a neat freak..." The tall gunblader muttered as he walked back out into the main room casting a look towards the bed where Zell was sleeping.

The smirk fell away and the look on his face became rather blank for a while before he flung the clothes onto a chair before he got into the bed in the middle a frown making its way onto his features.

_'Caraway was killed by the visres he had as servants... but that doesn't make sense. It's either a well fabricated lie or something really strange is going on... It said in the report that all the visres in the Carawy mansion suddenly started attacking everyone, even other visres.'_ Ocean green eyes stared up at the ceiling. _'...Wonder if that daft bint of a girl is safe...'_

The blond gundlbader let his thoughts wander for a while. Something was not right though, he could feel it...

* * *

_'What's that?' 'Why...' 'HELP ME!' 'I... I don't want to...' 'STOP IT!' 'Who's doing this?' 'Don't listen!' 'It hurts!' '..Aaaaaaaah!'_

Zell shot into a sitting position with a gasp and then nearly started to hyperventilate. His eyes were wide open and he stared down at the covers, cold sweat coating his skin. He reached up with shaking hands and cradled his head. He could still hear them, voices, hundreds of them, mingling together in anguish.

He'd had nightmares before, those were nothing new. But voices, disembodied voices, he'd never heard such a thing before. He couldn't calm down. He was still desperately trying to get air into his lungs, but it felt impossible.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm down, but the voices wouldn't stop. What scared him more than the voices though was that he could feel his magic starting to fluctuate, in a really, really, bad way.

_'Calm down...calm down...calm down...'_

* * *

Seifer was on the verge of falling asleep when he heard the sudden movements and Zell's gasp. With an annoyed grumble the blond gunblader turned over and tried to fall back asleep. He was too tired to deal with the chicken, but after a couple of minutes with the panicked breathing not stopping Seifer at up and looked over and startled slightly. Zell was glowing.

"...the hell?" Seifer said and glanced to his right, Squall was still not back from wherever he'd gone, the bed was still made.

"Hey, chicken." Seifer said trying to get Zell to just snap out of it, but the visres didn't seem to have heard him. With a frown the tall blond got off his bed and moved the short distance to the next bed.

It was then he felt his hair stand on end. His hair literary stood straight up because of the static that surrounded the visres. He started to reach out and almost instantaneously a spark shot out and zapped him. The gunblader snatched his hand back and frowned, it stung quite a bit, and he flexed his fingers trying to get the lingering feeling to disappear.

He would have just left Zell to deal with it, but the static bubble around the visres seemed to be widening, and that couldn't be good. "Zell... Hey snap out of it!"

No reaction.

"Hyne damned it..." In the next moment Seifer reached out and grabbed a hold of one of Zell's wrist, and Seifer could actually feel the skin on his hand tearing as he got zapped again, but he simply grit his teeth and was about to pull the other blond of the bed. But that wasn't quite what happened...

Instead shimmering blue eyes snapped up to stare at him and then, a moment later, Seifer was on his back on the bed, Zell's free hand chocking him, as well as shocking him. Without hesitation the gunblader punched the visres, and the force of the blow and the surprise it caused was enough for the taller blond to get the upper hand.

Seifer grabbed Zell's other wrist and soon had the visres restrained against the bed while kneeling between his legs.

Seifer frowned down at Zell, the visres was still nearly hyperventilating, and looked quite out of it still. The taller blond didn't want to let go of the visres at that point, for the simple reason of not wanting to get choked again, or worse...

But at the same time he needed to get the visres to at least breath properly. "You're more trouble than you're worth sparkles..." He muttered with a frown before he leaned down and pressed his lips over Zell's parted ones, and forced the visres to take a few long breaths and didn't pull away until the shorter blond was taking even breaths. When he did pull away Zell was staring up at him with wide and confused eyes, and seemed to be holding his breath.

Seifer let out a sigh, quirking an eyebrow at the shorter blond. "I recommend that you breath sparkles, you're going to pass out if you don't." Zell seemed to startle at the words but let out a shaky breath before he started to breath somewhat normal again.

"...Seifer... what...?" Zell stammered out becoming increasingly aware of his own state of undress and the fact he was barely covered, and that his hands were held above his head by Seifer. "You were freaking out over something and glowing like a lightning bug, I was just trying to get you to snap out of it."

"...oh... but why were- ...Why are you on top of me?" The visres asked looking even more confused, he could only vaguly remember the sound of voices, and the surge of magic that suddenly flooded through him, and he could still feel his magic fluctuate, but nothing he couldn't cope with, with a clear mind anyway...

"Because you pulled me down and tried to suffocate me." Seifer said as he started to pull back letting go of one of Zell's wrists, preparing to move of the shorter blond, and it was then they both heard the door click open...

Seifer saw Squall stop dead in his tracks, looked at the two of them for a few seconds and then just simply turned and left, closing the door behind him. Zell had just closed his eyes and could feel a blush burning his face, all the way to the tips of his ears, and he was quite glad that the room was quite dark.

"...Seifer... would ya get off me now?" Zell muttered after an awkward silence, and without saying anything the taller blond let go of Zell's other wrist and moved off the bed and over to his own.

"You better have a good excuse in the morning chicken, as fun as it is to freak puberty boy out, there are other ways to do it."

The visres looked at Seifer as he got under the covers and settled down. The silence felt extremely awkward to the wisres and after a couple of minutes of just laying on the bed he moved to the edge of the it and reached down to fetch his underwear, trying with all his might to stop blushing.

* * *

_The two blonds sat hidden behind some large rocks on the beach, it was already dark but neither of them seemed to care much. The moon was full and cast enough light to make it easy for the both of them to see. They were a foot or so apart but were acting as if the other weren't there. _

_Zell's shimmering eyes was looking out over the water, he hadn't seen the ocean before he came to the orphanage. It was a bit scary. It looked to be endless... _

_Blue eyes shifted a little so that he could see the taller blond out of the corner of his eye, Seifer was facing away towards the lighthouse, still acting as if Zell wasn't there. _

_There had been a bit shouting match between the children earlier that day, Seifer had been accused of taking something that wasn't his. Seifer had at first had acted as if he hadn't heard what Quistis had said, but when Selphie and Irvine got involved, he had started to taunt them. Then the real shouting started a few minutes later when tempers started to rise, and after a very nasty comment from Irvine, punches were thrown. _

_Matron had hurried into the room and gave them all an earful about how it is wrong to fight, and Seifer had been sent to Cid because he had hit Irvine so hard that his nose had started to bleed quite a lot. The front of Irvine's shirt had been drenched with blood by the time Matron had pulled the two boys apart. Seifer had been sent to bed early because of it and the other boys never even looked twice at the lumpy bed when they headed off to bed as well. Zell had however clearly felt that the other blond wasn't there as soon as he entered the bedroom. _

_He didn't know quite why though, but to him humans had a different energy about them then visres had. He would never be able to detect a visres if they didn't want him to. Humans had a feel to them, all different, Selphie she was like a playful wind, it was the best way he could describe it really, all wild and unruly at times, but at the same time soft. Qustis was a little prickly, that was about as much as he got from the blond girl. Irvine... his energy was for the most part just smooth and relaxed somehow. But every now and again it would shift and get all uneven, like when he had said that nasty comment to Seifer. Squall, he was like ice, cold and sharp, so he usually stayed away from the brunet boy. Marton's energy was something he couldn't even begin to describe, there was something different about Matron, but he always felt safe when near her. It felt like nothing bad could touch him if she was there. Cid was like something warm and sturdy, something to rely on. _

_So when he couldn't feel Seifer in the room he'd waited until the house was quiet before he snuck out of the house to find the boy. _

_Zell shifted his eyes up towards the moon and sat there and thought for a few more minutes in silence, he was trying to get his mind around what Seifer's energy actually felt like. "...ya feel like fire..." He suddenly said out loud, and it actually took Zell a moment to realize that he had said it out loud. He turned his head and looked towards Seifer, the blond was looking at him, but only for a moment before he looked away again. _

_"That's just stupid..." Seifer muttered out, his voice sounding a little different than usual, but Zell said nothing about it, instead he frowned. "No it ain't, ya feel like fire. Like, ya can be all dangerous and flare up but yer also... warm I guess... Like the sun..." The tattooed boy said thoughtfully before he started to chew on his bottom lip as he continued to think turning to look out towards the dark horizon, so he completely missed the bewildered look Seifer was shooting at him. _

_A moment later though he shuffled around so that he was facing towards the ocean like Zell was. The look on Seifer's face went from bewildered to thoughtful. "What do you mean?" He eventually asked, his tone sounding a bit annoyed. Zell turned his head to look from the lapping water breaking against the sand before it drew away in a never ending pattern. _

_He looked at Siefer for a few moments, but the other blond was looking out towards the horizon now. "Well..." Zell started before he looked away and began to pluck at the hem of his t-shirt. "Ya all have different energies about ya I guess..." He mumbled and pursed his lips for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. _

_"...So that's why you find everyone so quickly while playing hide and seek with them..." Seifer mumbled after a while and then smirked. "You're such a cheater." He proclaimed, and Zell blushed to the tips of his pointed ears looking utterly embarrassed. "Well I can't really help it!" He said in an indignant tone and gripped the hem of his t-shirt in both hands and twisted the fabric. "I can't like turn it off or anything..." He muttered and turned his head away and glared down at the ground. _

_"Do you know that you move your ears around like a cat?" Seifer asked in an amused tone and reached out and pinched the tip of Zell's left ear, but let go as suddenly as he'd taken a hold of it at the strange yelp the other blond let out. Zell placed a hand over his ear and stared at Seifer with wide eyes. "Don't do that!" He almost yelled as he rubbed at his ear, his blush even brighter than before. "...That couldn't have hurt, I barely touched it." Seifer said in a huff. _

_Zell kept his hand on his ear and the blush deepened, he was quite glad it was dark, but it wasn't actually dark enough, even though he told himself it was. "It didn't..." He muttered. "..jus' felt really weird.." He huffed out and rubbed at is ear a little more to get rid of the lingering feeling. "I'm going back." The shorter blond said before he abruptly stood and started to stalk away towards the orphanage._

_Seifer looked after him with a rather bewildered frown for a minute before a smirk settled over his lips. He just found out a new way to tease someone, and that was always funny. _


End file.
